Big Bill says CM Punk was behind his partnership with Ricky Starks in AEW.
In late 2023, Ricky Starks and Big Bill would go on a run as a tag team in All Elite Wrestling, resulting with the capture of the AEW World Tag Team titles.
While speaking during a recent appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Big Bill reflected on the pairing with Ricky Starks and who came up with the idea.
"That was Punk. I was teaming with Brian Cage. We had some really cool matches and we were coming up with ideas for entrances and team names. I even went to Tony with a bunch of team names. In my mind, I thought this is where we were going forward and I was all in. Punk pulled me aside and said, ‘I have this idea for you and Ricky.’ I was like, ‘I’ve always liked Ricky.’ In NXT, I beiled him outside of the ring and he took a bump on the ramp. I thought I killed him. I didn’t think he was going to do it. He did it. I’ve always liked Ricky, ever since then. Me and him trained with The Undertaker to get him ready for WrestleMania in New Orleans. He’s charismatic. I’m charismatic. This could work. You hear things, you don’t know. It’s either me and Brian or me and Ricky. Either is awesome. Then they put me with Ricky and I was all in."
Bill and Starks would split off screen, with Bill later becoming a part of The Learning Tree and Starks being off TV for quite some time.
Elsewhere in the same appearance, Bill noted that he originally did not like the name 'Big Bill'. You can read more about that here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
